Windows 8

These functions are provided specifically for
the Windows 8 platform.

The Windows 8 module has some functions that are specifically
designed to be used by the games that target it. These functions
make the most of the Windows 8 tile system as well as permitting
you to access and share files from within your game. The following
functions have been split into the relevant sections to make
finding the right one for your needs easier. Please note that these
functions are for the Windows 8 desktop and Surface platforms,
not Windows 8 Phone. For Windows 8 Phone please see the
following section:

NOTE: The Windows 8 (JS and Native) target won't allow
multiple instances of the same app to run at a time, and if the
file is running it can't overwrite it. This means that you will
have to close the app before saving/testing a new version, and even
then you may have to wait a short period of time between builds to
enable Windows to close the app correctly.

Windows 8 games can run on devices that may, or may not, have a
touch screen. This means that your games have to be developed with
this in mind. To make things easier for you there is a special
function for detecting whether the device running the game is touch
enabled or not:

WARNING: If you have any functions in your
Windows 8 game that require an internet connection, like an open
URL call for example, then you must have the "Use
Internet" capability ticked for the game in the Global Game
Settings. Microsoft also specifies that if you use this capability
you need to add a link to your Privacy Policy in the
Settings pane of your Windows 8 game (see here as well as the functions for using the
Settings Charm for further details).

Live Tiles

With the Windows 8 OS your game (or app) will be associated with
its own Live Tile. A live tile is a dynamic link to your
game which updates in real time, meaning that you can "push" images
and text onto them for the user to see at specific times form your
game. The following functions are the recommended method for
creating Live Tile notifications:

You also have access to the Secondary Live Tile. This is
a second type of Live Tile that can be pinned to the main start
page and used to access a specific section of your game, for
example a saved game. It can be quite tricky to set up and get
working as you need to supply certain command line
parameters which will be parsed later by your game when it is
called on from the secondary tile (using the parameter_string
function). The following is a list of all the secondary tile
functions:

NOTE: a Secondary Tile will include all of the mandatory
properties used to create the standard wide tile.

Appbar commands

The App Bar is a special bar of buttons that can be made to pop
up by right clicking on your game. These buttons can be
defined through the following functions and linked to scripts
within GameMaker: Studio to create pause menus, options
etc...:

Settings Charm

When in your game, if you move the mouse to the top right (or
bottom right) of the screen, a side-bar slides out that shows
different "charms" (icons). These functions give you the ability to
add custom options to the "Settings" charm, either through internal
scripts, or external XAML formatted files:

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Trial Play

The Windows 8 App Store permits your game to be marketed with a
trial period. This will let people play your game for a
limited time with (if you choose) limited features and then, at the
end of the trial period, it will prompt the user to buy the full
version. The following functions can be used in your games: